Building the Center for Rural Communities & Librarianship

This is a multi-part project providing support for the creation of an academic center for rural librarianship. The Center for Rural Communities & Librarianship (CRCL) will be a network of thriving rural libraries partnered with top universities, state agencies, funders, associations, and innovative companies with the common goal of nurturing rural communities and improving rural life. CRCL seeks to coordinate and amplify the work of partners into a rural library movement for the common good. Work included participating in a team that conducted research and literature reviews around rural librarianship, community building, support for studies on the needs of rural librarians, and focused work on credentialing and alternative credentialing models.